No company, regardless of size, profitability or cash stockpile, is immune from an activist investor attack. Power players like Apple, Pepsi, Microsoft and Netflix with tons of cash and generous dividends that outperform their peers have successfully been attacked and forced to change course. Proctor & Gamble’s attacker owned less than 1% of the firm and orchestrated an event that ousted the CEO and forced a change in corporate strategy.

You've been asked to serve on the board of a nonprofit organization. Should you accept? Membership on a nonprofit board is a rewarding experience for many CEOs whose skills and experience running a company make them especially valuable to the organizations they serve. CEOs should, however, conduct due diligence regarding the organization and understand the duties of board membership prior to accepting a board seat.

The best way for directors to align the company’s interests with the CEO’s is to max out stock incentives, right? Not necessarily. New research published in the Review of Financial Studies recommends a different approach to incentives that results in a more effective relationship between the CEO and board.

You may have thought this trend was behind us, but “tax inversion” acquisitions are still going on across America’s borders, despite U.S.-government efforts to curb them. As a result, many boards are still faced with the difficult choice between shareholder value and patriotism.

Seeing the need for a new CEO, a client went about it the right way and began developing a thoughtful, strategic succession process. The company began grooming two or three in-house candidates, eventually zeroing in on one they thought would be ideal. However, the dynamics changed as the process went on. In cultivating their CEO-to-be, they came to realize they were actually betting on the wrong horse.

Before launching an all-out offensive against an activist investor, both sides should consider a middle path. No one has a monopoly on wisdom, and often an activist will have a worthwhile suggestion. Moreover, being willing to listen to properly presented ideas from a significant shareholder is part of a CEO’s and a board’s fiduciary responsibility.